Weekly Digest - 17/08/2009
By Steven Perdikis - Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:55am
Each week, we collate the most popular stories that we published over the past seven days, plus a lineup of the most downloaded files added in the same timeframe. That way, in case you missed something, you can catch up in one helpful little spot, every Monday morning.
Last week, people wanted to know why the Australian Classification Board decided to swing its ban hammer at the game Risen. Team Fortress 2 remained as popular as ever, with a large update bringing a bunch of new features to the game. Bennett's time with Halo 3: ODST was also in demand. On the demo front, the Darkest of Days demo made a few people's days darker. Finally, information regarding the limited edition of CITIES XL was also popular, suggesting that we'll see a lot of cities built once the game is finally released.
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Last week, people wanted to know why the Australian Classification Board decided to swing its ban hammer at the game Risen. Team Fortress 2 remained as popular as ever, with a large update bringing a bunch of new features to the game. Bennett's time with Halo 3: ODST was also in demand. On the demo front, the Darkest of Days demo made a few people's days darker. Finally, information regarding the limited edition of CITIES XL was also popular, suggesting that we'll see a lot of cities built once the game is finally released.
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Risen refused classification; unlikely to surface in Australia It's been a quiet year for the Australian Classification Board's ban hammer; here we are in August already, with Piranha Bytes' upcoming RPG Risen only the third game to be refused classification, and thereby effectively denied an Australian release. The spiritual successor to the cult favourite Gothic series failed to fall in line with the strictures of the MA15+ rating for depicting both the use of illicit substances and sexual activities in conjunction with gameplay incentives. |
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Team Fortress 2 gets a rather large update The folks over at Valve have released a pretty big update for Team Fortress 2 that introduces a lot of changes and new stuff. The most interesting addition is an all new gameplay mode "King of the Hill" that sees the two teams fight over a single capture point over three minutes. A bunch of new hats have also been added to the game. The complete change list reveals all the fixes, new features, and balancing issues that have been addressed. The update is available now, and your Steam client should automatically download the patch the next time it starts. If it doesn't, restarting Steam will force the update to download. |
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Games On Net Crashes Aussie HALO 3: ODST Event Games.on.net has a very special treat for HALO fans. Microsoft and Bungie recently visited Sydney for an exclusive HALO3: ODST event, and we grilled the game's lead producer on this expansion pack turned sequel. Curtis Creamer, Lead Producer of HALO 3: ODST, gave us the lowdown on tweaks to the graphics engine (there aren't any), improvements to the AI (there are heaps) and a whole lot more. Oh yeah, did we mention that we also got to go for a spin in a real Warthog, and filmed it all in high-res HD glory? It sure beats catching the bus to work! |
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Darkest of Days delivers demo Oh look, here comes Darkest of Days again, bobbing to the surface. But... what's this? Could it be? I had almost started to think that this day would never come, but believe it or not, we are rewarded for our (oblivious) patience not only with a tentative release date but with a demo! |
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CITIES XL Limited Edition revealed The question of whether to purchase CITIES XL or not has been pretty satisfactorily answered for most people, but as always in this modern, complicated world, there remain more dilemmas to solve. The one that's nagging at me today is, should I pick up the CITIES XL standard or limited edition?! What a quandary - we'd better take a look at what delights appear in the latter. |
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Treyarch announce network bans for console modders Treyarch aren't everybody's favourite Call of Duty developers, but they're still responsible for two major titles in the series which garner a great deal of online play, and when it comes to the multiplayer experience on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, they're putting the heat on hackers and modders, with a hotly worded statement from CoD Headquarters. Legitimate players will shrug off Treyarch's warning, but smugly confident cheaters could be in for a bit of a shock if their entire Playstation Network or Xbox LIVE accounts are suspended. |
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Assassin's Creed II - second developer diary released Ubisoft have released a new developer diary from Assassin's Creed II that talks a little about the various factions that are present in the game. Also revealed in the developer diary is the fact that Assassin's Creed II will feature an economic system, allowing the player to interact with shops, and to purchase specific weapons, allowing them to develop Ezio's fighting style to match their own gameplay style. |
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Razer to release Starcraft II peripherals Since I'm the sort who excitedly knocks cups of tea all over my keyboard and mouse on a regular basis, I've never invested in any of the admittedly highly attractive range of gaming hardware from Razer. Then again, Razer have never before released a line of Starcraft II branded accessories! The specially-designed range will eventually include mouse, keyboard and headset, but kicks off with this snazzy messenger bag. |
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Monday Screens! (10/08/2009) While many people to choose label the start of the working week as a bore, it isn't really (unless you do really boring things, of course) just in case it is - Games On Net attempts to come to the rescue, with a shiny, colourful collection of screenshots to try and make your day all the more entertaining. Today's collection has a lot of pictures for you to look at, just like every other week... Enjoy. |
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ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead announced Bohemia Interactive have announced that the first standalone expansion pack for ArmA II, the creatively titled Arma II: Operation Arrowhead is currently in development, with the expansion set three years after the events of ArmA II. Set in Takistan, players will see coalition forces (led by the US Army) participate in an all new flashpoint threatening to claim civilian lives. The role of the player will be to restore peace and prevent more civilian casualties. The new expansion will be set in central Asia, and will allow players to take on the role of basic infantrymen, special operatives, and vehicle operators. |
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Friday Roundup! (14/08/2009) Another Friday means that the working week is coming to an end for many people. For those of you who don't have any plans this weekend, and have finished any games that you might have been playing, the Friday Roundup is here to reassure you that there's always more stuff to do, especially when might not have time to do it all. This week, we have for you demos from AI War, Batman: Arkham Asylum , Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Creeper World, Darkest of Days, Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger, Steam Slug and The Filmmaker. ... and we have for you full games from ARENA Online, Mario Forever, Operation 7, Rush Fighters, Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online, Village 3D, WonderKing. Enjoy! |
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Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood demo available now! Ubisoft and Techland have released a PC demo for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, which lets those who haven't yet decided whether or not they'd like to pick up the title give the game a bit of a test-drive to see how well it fares. The demo allows players to try out the "Prison Break" game level, and has language support for English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Polish. While the PC demo is only single player, it allows players to get a taste of the game. |
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Steam Weekly Top Sellers - Week Ending August 9th, 2009 What have the gaming public been buying this week via digital distribution platform Steam? ... They seemed to be seduced by the notion of a ridiculously titled pack of games entitled the "The absolute, autonomous, freewheeling, grassroots, nonaligned, nonpartisan, sovereign, unconstrained, uncontrolled, unregimented games pack". The people who like "sensible" game titles also chimed in, contributing by purchasing many copies of Dawn of War II. The third most purchased game was then a MMO that hasn't yet been released, Aion. Perhaps due to news of more DLC arriving in September, Left 4 Dead managed to sell some more copies, and finally, new comer Hearts of Iron 3 gave some people heart palpitations. If you want to what else sold the most last week, you'll just have to check out the Steam Top Sellers for the week ending August 9th! |
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Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition detailed, new screens Yesterday we were advised of the terribly sad delay to the release of Dragon Age: Origins. Cease your weeping, mourner! If you can raise your tear-streaked face from your salt-covered keyboard for a few moments and stop snuffling miserably to yourself, you might be slightly comforted by this batch of screenshots that BioWare have sent along as a kind of consolation prize. Are you consoled? No? Did I mention there are over thirty of them...? Still upset? Well, we could go for icecream... or we could take a peek inside the Collector's Edition! |
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The Warp Pipe - 09/08/2009 With the winter gaming drought in full swing and little interesting news happening, one has plenty of time to sit around and play old games and do a lot of research. Sometimes while doing research for The Warp Pipe, we find out some pretty cool stuff – every now and then we'll package it up for your enjoyment. This week is one of those weeks – hooray for learning. In our latest compilation of video game facts, we'll discover the origins of Mario's friend/foe Boo, discuss gaming's most valuable collectable and reminisce about box art changes. |
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